Introduction

ON THE SECOND CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN

The Second Epistle of John the Theologian, like his Third Epistle and the Epistle of the Apostle Jude, belonged in the ancient Church until the fourth century to the so-called “disputed” (antilegomena) writings, as Origen testifies (in Eusebius, Church History VI:25), blessed Jerome (“On Famous Men,” ch. XIX), and Eusebius (Church History III:25). Moreover, from the works of Eusebius and blessed Jerome, it is known that the Second and Third Epistles were sometimes attributed by some to a certain Elder John of Ephesus, mentioned by Papias (in Eusebius, Church History III:39): the tomb of this Elder John was also shown in Ephesus, where the tomb of the holy Apostle John the Theologian was located (ibid., and in blessed Jerome’s “On Famous Men,” ch. IX). On this basis, many modern scholars also attribute the Second and Third Epistles of John to this Elder John, and sometimes to the Apostle Mark, called John in the Book of Acts (Acts 12:12). The causes of doubts regarding the apostolic origin of the epistle were partly the brevity of the epistle and its obscurity, occasioned by its destination to a private person—“the chosen lady and her children” (2 John 1:1)—and partly the absence of the Apostle’s name in the inscription of the epistle (the Apostle calls himself only an elder). But the non-mention of the epistle in the first three centuries and its absence, for instance, from the Syrian translation of the Peshitta of the second century do not indicate doubt in the ancient Church regarding the apostolic authorship and authority of the epistle. Alongside the hesitations of individual church writers stand the authoritative testimonies of other representatives of the Church in favor of the epistle belonging to the Apostle and Evangelist John.

The Muratorian Canon mentions several epistles of the Apostle John. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, who was a student of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, a student of the Apostle John himself, quotes the words 2 John 1:7-8 (about false teachers and the prohibition of communion with them) as the authentic words of a disciple of the Lord (Adv. haer. III:16, 8). Clement of Alexandria wrote a commentary on this epistle as a genuinely apostolic work. Dionysius of Alexandria (in Eusebius, Church History VII:25) and Origen (in Eusebius, Church History VI:25) recognize Second John as a writing of the holy Apostle John.

This is also the view of Eusebius himself (Demonstr. Evang. III:5; Church History II:23) and blessed Jerome (Epistle to Euagrius 80). And although the Syrian translation of the Peshitta does not include this epistle, Saint Ephrem the Syrian quotes it as authentic. The very spirit and character of the epistle, and the noticeable resemblance in content and language to the First Epistle, despite its brevity, should also convince the reader of the epistle of its belonging to the great Apostle of love. Its inclusion at the end of the fourth century by the Church in the canon of sacred books (at the councils of Laodicea in 364 AD, canon 60, and Carthage in 397 AD, canon 47) removes all doubts about the epistle’s authorship by the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian.

Who exactly was the ekklekte kyria, “the chosen lady,” to whom the Second Epistle of John was originally directed, along with her children, reliable information is lacking. If some (for instance, Saint Athanasius the Great) considered the name Kyria to be the proper name of some deaconess from Asia Minor, others the Greek name Martha, sister of Lazarus (the Serbian Martha is equivalent in meaning to the Greek Kyria), and still others (following Clement of Alexandria) considered “ekklekte” itself to be such a proper name and believed this Christian woman to be a Babylonian, identical with the one mentioned in 1 Pet 5:13, then all this is pure conjecture. It is therefore necessary to see in Kyria a common name of a Christian woman converted to Christ by the holy Apostle John and instructed through this epistle. It is not possible to accept the opinion of Clement of Alexandria and blessed Jerome, who understand “the chosen lady” to mean the Church, as in the Apostle Peter (1 Pet 5:13). Such allegory in the address of an epistle is scarcely permissible. The catholic character of the epistle is not destroyed by its private destination: the resemblance in content and language of the Second Epistle to the First Epistle indicates the character of catholicity for the Second Epistle as well, a character which has been recognized in it by the entire Church. In terms of the time of writing, the Second Epistle should be dated, like the First Epistle, to the elderly period of the life of the holy John the Theologian. The place of writing is the city of Ephesus.

The inscription, praise of the chosen lady and her children, and greeting (1–3). Expression of joy and the commandment of love and piety (4–6). Warning against false teachers (7–11). News and greetings (12–13).

2 John 1:1. The Elder — to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who have come to know the truth, 2 John 1:2. for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. 2 John 1:3. Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. The Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian calls himself by his own name—John—only in the Apocalypse (Rev 1:9); in the Gospel and in the First Epistle, he does not call himself at all, and in the Second and Third Epistles he refers to himself as an elder, ho presbyteros—undoubtedly because of his advanced age, as a proper elder (just as the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to Philemon, written near the end of his life, called himself “an elder” (Phlm 1:9), and not as a presbyter in the sense of a hierarchical office. The expression “chosen lady” is better understood, as we have already said in the introduction to the epistle, in a common sense—namely, as a certain pious Christian woman, called chosen in the sense of the height of Christian calling of people into the Church of Christ (cf. 1 Pet 2:7-10; Rom 8:33 and others). If in the title “chosen” there is thus contained the notion of a woman-Christian adorned with virtues, then the title “lady” may indicate the nobility of birth and the height of the social position of this Christian woman—apparently a widow (her husband is not mentioned, only her children). “He writes to a faithful woman and thereby does not demean himself in any way, because in Christ Jesus there is neither distinction of male nor female” (Gal 3:28). The second half of verse 1 and verse 2 contain high praise for the piety of the “chosen lady” and her children: not only the Apostle himself, but all other true Christians, with pure love in Christ, love of deed and truth (1 John 3:18), love the God-fearing family of the “chosen lady,” because of the eternally abiding truth in Christians (v. 2), that truth which abides with the disciples of the Lord according to His promise concerning the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17). The Apostle bestows a blessing upon his first readers: grace, mercy, and peace—grace (charis) is the sum of all spiritual gifts given by God, necessary for advancement in a pious life (cf. Rom 3:24; Eph 2:4-10); mercy (eleos) is God’s compassionate love toward weak humanity (cf. Luke 10:30-37); peace (eirene) is the quieting of the spirit through reconciliation with God through the redemptive sacrifice of Christ (cf. 1 Pet 1:2). The source of these great blessings is the Most Holy Trinity, wherein the Apostle calls the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father (tou huiou tou Patros)—“for God alone in the proper sense is the Father of the Son. Therefore Paul also says: ‘From whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named’” (Eph 3:15) (blessed Theophilus). With the closing words of verse 3, “in truth and love” (en aletheia kai agape), the Apostle expresses the manner and purpose of the manifestation in Christians of grace, mercy, and peace; this purpose is the spirit of truth and love, as a constant principle of the life and activity of Christians.

2 John 1:4. I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, as we have received the commandment from the Father. 2 John 1:5. And now I ask you, lady, not as if I were prescribing a new commandment to you, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. 2 John 1:6. Now love consists in this, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment which you have heard from the beginning, that you walk according to it. After the greeting and the bestowal of blessing upon his readers, the Apostle begins his discourse by expressing high pastoral joy because some of the lady’s children—perhaps seen by the Apostle shortly before—walk in truth, according to the commandment of the Heavenly Father: “To walk in truth is indeed a most joyful thing—to find a man proceeding faultlessly along the path of faith in Christ according to His commandment.” “Walking” is said with the thought of indicating progress. For the more one acts in virtue, the further ahead one goes, the more practice in good one gains” (blessed Theophilus). The very commandment of the Father, proclaimed by His Son (John 15:15), is briefly and precisely expressed by the Apostle in his first epistle (1 John 3:23), and is now repeated and reminded to them not as new, but as something they have heard from the very beginning of their Christian life (vv. 5–6; see 1 John 2:7-11).

2 John 1:7. For many deceivers have entered into the world, not confessing that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh: such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 2 John 1:8. Watch out for yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but so that you may receive a full reward. The special cause for the Apostle’s urgent exhortation to the lady and her children is the appearance in the world and in the Church of many deceivers and antichrists, about whom the Apostle also wrote in his First Epistle (1 John 2:18). The difference appears to be only that the false teachers mentioned in verse 8 did not confess not only Jesus Christ coming in the flesh, but also Christ who is to come, erchomenon, that is, they did not confess either the first or the second coming of the Lord, they denied the very possibility of the incarnation of the Son of God, and consequently denied the very foundation of Christianity. From the words: “not confessing Jesus Christ coming,” rather than “come” (elthonta), “in the flesh,” it is evident that there were some who rejected the second coming of Christ. And the Lord Himself, when He says that many will come in His name, is not speaking of His first coming, but of the second. However, it is entirely true that whoever rejects the second coming does not recognize the first either. For if the Lord came already in the flesh and promised to come again, then clearly the one who rejects the second coming also rejects the first. “Whoever believes that the Lord came will accept with faith His promise that He is coming. But whoever rejects the promise has nothing preventing him from denying the first coming as well. Therefore, I believe, the beloved expressed himself as ‘coming’ rather than ‘come’ so that with one word he might embrace those denying both comings of the Lord” (blessed Theophilus). It is thus understandable that the Apostle John expresses equal severity in denouncing the false teachers in both his First and Second Epistles. In verse 8, the Apostle also indicates the purpose for which he proposes such insistent warnings against deception by false teachers: “that we might not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward” (cf. Gal 4:11, 1 Thess 3:5). By this the Apostle also removes any possible objection from those deceived by the false teachers. “Someone of such people might perhaps say: If I do not believe in the coming of Christ in the flesh, but live a life of good deeds, surely with these deeds I can stand alongside the pious? Surely I cannot receive a reward for them? The Apostle preemptively destroys such an objection. He says: whoever denies the coming of Christ in the flesh—let him not even think of receiving the full recompense for works that He will give to the truly believing, nor of being counted among the perfectly pious. On the contrary, everyone who transgresses His commandment, that is, the commandment of Christ who came in the flesh, and does not abide in His teaching, does not have God. For if one looks with contempt upon Him who came to teach people perfect knowledge of God, how can he still be pious, when he scorns the very Teacher of divine things? No, such a person is godless” (blessed Theophilus).

2 John 1:9. Everyone who transgresses the teaching of Christ and does not remain in it does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 2 John 1:10. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not greet him. 2 John 1:11. For the one who greets him shares in his evil deeds. The Apostle proves the necessity of faithfulness to all the teaching of Christ in verse 9, both negatively, saying that “everyone who transgresses and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God” (cf. 1 John 2:23), and positively, affirming that “he who abides in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (cf. 1 John 4:14-16). “He abides in the teaching of Christ, that is, the Gospel, who thinks according to it, teaches, acts, arranges his whole inner and outer life according to it” (blessed Theophilus). Now, in verses 10–11, in view of the destructive nature of the false teaching that denied the incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ, the Apostle, urgently warning Christians against deception by false teachers, demands of his spiritual children to avoid all communion with false teachers—meaning, first of all, to be on guard against them as teachers and to flee their destructive false teaching, and then to withdraw from fellowship with them in worldly affairs as well. The Apostle Paul gave similar counsel to Christians regarding false teachers and the impious (2 Thess 3:6; Rom 16:17).

2 John 1:12. I have many things to write to you, but I do not want to write them on paper with ink; rather I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be full. 2 John 1:13. The children of your chosen sister greet you. Amen. The Apostle indicates the cause of the brevity of the Second Epistle (and later the Third Epistle) in his desire for a personal meeting with the readers—namely, probably, one of his customary apostolic journeys to visit the churches. From the greeting from the children of the sister of the chosen lady, we can conclude that they were the closest disciples of the Apostle and were with him, just as the disciples and companions of the Apostle Paul were with him.